Management Continuing Education for Professional Engineers

Are you like many engineers; highly trained to solve technical problems but not as confident with your people skills? There is a big difference between engineering design and business management. In the engineering profession engineers are constantly studying to stay current on the latest technologies and engineering strategies. For many engineers it is extremely difficult to transition from engineer to manager. Since business and management are not usually classes in engineering college, engineers are expected to obtain their business skills through experience and continuing education. Unless you have a MBA, you will probably find it difficult to locate qualified continuing education sources with management courses tailored for engineers.

Most of the State Licensing Boards require Professional Engineers to renew their professional licenses periodically with a minimum number of continuing education units. These units are usually Professional Development Hours (PDH) or Continuing Education Units (CEU). One PDH is equivalent to one hour of course education, and one CEU is equivalent to ten PDH or ten hours of course education. To obtain these units of continuing education the professional engineer will attend or teach the seminars, classes, or courses, write articles, or sit on professional boards or committees. The majority of engineers obtain their credits by attending conferences or seminars.

Nearly all of the states that require continuing education credits accept business or managerial courses as long as they are related to engineering. In other words you can not take a class in “How to start your own Retail Business” and expect to receive continuing education credit for renewing your professional engineering license. But you can take a course in “Engineering Business Marketing Techniques” and receive full credit.

In addition, most State Licensure Boards do not pre-approve courses for continuing education credit. This responsibility is usually left to the engineer to understand the state codes and to screen the courses appropriately. The Board will either accept or decline the courses after the engineer has submitted the license renewal application and listed the completed and credits received.

Engineering managerial courses can include topics on Engineering Business Plan, Engineering Operations, Engineering Marketing, Financials, Proposals, Leadership, and many others. To acquire the necessary continuing education units, engineers can find these courses in the following sources;

Community College and University Continuing Education Courses – These institutions regularly offer courses on numerous topics. Since the courses have to appeal to a wide audience, they usually do not cover technical topics that would be of interest to engineers. You can find business topics, but these courses are very general. Management courses that can apply to engineers my have words like “professional services” and “technical industry” in the course title.

Vendor Seminar (Lunch Presentation) – This has been one my favorite sources. It usually starts by a product vendor giving you a call. He will ask if you would be interested in a presentation at your office. If you are interested you may say “Yes, but I will need for the presentation to be made at my office during lunch our hour. The attendees will be my engineers and designers, and I will need for you to bring lunch.” Your team will listen to the vendor’s presentation, review his products and literature, ask technical questions, and enjoy lunch. Each of your Professional Engineers gains about 0.5 PDH.

On-the-Job Training – Some firms actually have monthly training sessions for their engineers and support staff. The subjects can be on a wide array of technical, ethical, and managerial topics. As long as the subject covered, who made the presentation, who attended the training, date of the training session, and time spent training is documented, these sessions can count as continuing education.

Seminars – These courses are often held in a hotel conference room for a few hours to several days. Usually the courses offer continuing education credit of 8 PDH per day. If you have to travel to attend the seminar, your additional expenses beyond the cost of the seminar will include lodging, air fares, rental car, and dining. A three-day course can easily exceed several thousands dollars. Also take into account that during this time you will not be working on any contracts, your company will loss billable hours.

Convention and Conferences – These events offers the attendee a multitude of course topics. Attending one four-day convention, you can easily obtain all of the continuing education credits needed to renew your professional license. Like seminars if the convention is away from your home town, you will have additional expenses including lodging, air fares, rental car, and dining. Also since you are away from your office, you will loss billable hours. Again, a convention can cost you or your office thousands of dollars.

Home Study Courses – These courses have been around for a long time; long before the computer. The course material is sent to your home. You study the material, answer the quiz, and return the quiz. A week or two later a Course Completion certificate is sent to you. These types of course are being replaced by Online Courses as discussed below.

Online Seminars – This is becoming a very popular program. Seminars that are online are often quite a bit less expensive than actually attending a seminar. Not only are the courses cheaper, but the attendee also saves due to no traveling, lodging, dining, or other expenses. Of course, the attendee will have to find a quite area to sit-up the computer and speakers, and to post a sign on the door saying “Do Not Disturb”. Once the seminar is completed you receive a Certificate of Completion with the number of PDH or CEU earned.

Online Courses – These courses are much like the home study course but everything is done over the internet. You can take the course 24/7, and you usually have instant access to the quiz and the certificate of completion. These courses are the most economical and convenient for the engineer. You can just about study any topic; technical, ethical, or managerial. Most websites tend toward the technical topics. While only a few websites specialize in the business of engineering. Since most of these courses are written by engineers, it is understandable that most of the courses are technical.

Most engineers have excellent technical skills, but not necessarily the same level of expertise in business management and marketing. It is the responsibility of the engineer to develop these management skills through continuing education. Continuing education can be obtained through Community Colleges, Universities, Professional Training Programs, Professional Organizations, and online training courses. In most states continuing education courses qualify for continuing education units (CEU) o

Continuing Education for Counselors – Benefits of Online CEUs

Continuing education for counselors (LPC, LPCC, LCP, and MHC) not only enriches the licensed counselor’s practice but also satisfies individual state requirements for counselor CEUs for license renewals. These requirements are not only intended to keep the counselor up with the latest trends in the field but to update them on the latest risks and treatment options regardless of when they first began to practice or their field of expertise.

The focus of licensed counselors can vary greatly from one practice to another. For example: a licensed counselor in a school situation faces many different issues with at risk clients than that of a LPC whose practice focuses mainly upon the challenges of the aging population. Continuing education courses can reflect the different challenges faced by professionals in their areas of practice and the situations they and their clients face.

Whether or not there are formal counselor CE requirements depends upon the state issuing the license; however, many individuals who work in a government or a state agency may have CE requirements set by their individual agency. For example: state agencies may require a specific number of CEUs for counselors practicing under their auspices. Even if there are no continuing education requirements in place, the challenges of a counselor’s client population and the techniques for approaching these challenges are constantly changing. It takes more than just the occasional periodical to keep up with these changes. Online continuing education for counselors can assist the extremely busy professional counselor in keeping current with these changes and the needs of their target population while allowing them to leverage their available time in a more efficient fashion.

The minimum continuing education requirements in most states is from 20 to 40 hours depending upon the US state. Some states will also have additional requirements that set a specific number of hours in a course requirement such as ethics or risk assessment. Renewal of the license will usually involve providing proof of completion in the applicable areas. License cycles for counselors run from one to four years in length, again, depending on the state.

Satisfying Continuing Education for Counselors Requirements for License Renewal

Depending upon the individual state the continuing education requirements can vary. Many states will permit a combination of educational experiences to count toward the renewal of their counselor CEUs. A LPC working on a doctorate or whose has papers published may also apply this experience to credit against their license renewal requirements. Traditional classroom courses may also be applied toward the State’s CE requirements.

Perhaps one of the most innovative changes in continuing education for counselors is that of allowing credit for online courses. Many professional counselors are in private practice and the demands on their time are relentless. Most find that keeping up a personal life as well as a practice can be challenging and the requirements for CEUs may be simply one more thing on an already too full schedule. However, with online courses from a state board approved educational organization the burden of CE is notably less onerous, since courses and study takes place on their schedule. Selecting a continuing education class need not be a matter of taking what is available regardless of the content or its applicability to their practice.

Methods and challenges are constantly changing and the focus of the LPC must change with it. Additionally, changes in individual state laws require the licensed counselor be aware of their legal obligations as well as the ethics of sometimes entirely new situations. There are rarely grey areas in the laws that apply to the professional counselor and their responsibilities in reporting, and it is imperative they keep up with changes in the laws and current requirements. Continuing education for counselors in ethics and legalities is almost a professional necessity regardless of whether the state requires them for license renewal.

It is entirely possible to combine online counselor CEUs with offline seminars and other educational experiences to satisfy a state’s requirements for renewal of the counselor’s license. This can be particularly useful when the professional’s state or employer’s requirements include courses not available locally. In the real world very few professionals can take off on someone else’s schedule to attend coursework in another city or across the state.

Choosing Continuing Education for Counselors Courses

Counselors choosing continuing education courses or CEUs to meet state requirements may have to choose specific course work according to their state requirements but in many cases, the professional will have the freedom to either explore new areas applicable to their current practice or investigate related areas. Rather than a chore required by a state; continuing education for counselors can permit them to expand their areas of expertise and bring new approaches into their practices.

Aspira Continuing Education is an online CEU provider for Professiona

The Importance of Continuing Education

While these 23 million individuals represent the very core of an emerging society that is more inclined to studying and learning, the remaining individuals are excluded from these learning experiences due to reasons of time, cost, or even personal issues.

Over the last few years, the number of adults who are continuing with their education has increased tremendously. This term “continuing education” describes the opportunity and process of learning new skills and acquiring knowledge that is far superior to what we are taught during our formal schooling years.

Most people opt for continued education to further their knowledge base and even their employability.

Continuing Education vs. Traditional

Usually, what we learn in all of those long, arduous years of our formal schooling are just basic skills that are good enough to help us start working, but not good enough to take us further in our careers, especially with the rapid changes and advancements in technology that demands for a more sophisticated and educated workforce.

Students who participate in continuing their education are generally working professionals who seek to further advance and promote their intellectual capabilities while still working. Since their time is divided between studies and full-time work, they have to be extremely motivated in order to succeed. One of the biggest characteristics that distinguish students who are participating in continuing education is their tendency to relate the lessons that they learn in class to their work experience.

Instructors must have the proper and appropriate practical experience and knowledge in order to address the issues and concerns of these special students. Students involved in continuing education can be very selective when it comes to choosing their courses. The courses that they choose have to be in some way relevant to their work and should be able to benefit them. If the right course is chosen, it can benefit you a great deal both educationally and professionally.

More and more adults are now engaged in continuing education that leads to formal qualifications that provide them with the adequate knowledge pertaining to a certain area of study. Furthermore, continuing education also provides us with a certain pride of accomplishment as we take our courses.

Offering an affordable, faster, and definitely more focused means of acquiring career or personal objectives, continuing education credentials can be put on resumes and presented anywhere as evidence of the individual’s professional studies.

The Importance of ‘Continuing Education’ in the Workplace

A skilled workforce will always result in increased economic productivity. Here is how continuing education benefits the working force:

o A more skilled workforce is always more productive – These days, skills and education are seen as the most important elements of the employability and income potential of a candidate. Since the economy has shifted to one that values an educated workforce more than an uneducated workforce, employers are now seeking both educated and skilled workers. The demand for continuing education has thus increased twofold.

o Continuing education helps employers retain better employees while remaining as competitive as ever – A more educated employee will always be more productive, so companies have now started hiring employees who are continuing with their education. Continuing education can be seen as a way to retain the better, more educated employees.

With the rapid advancement of the information technology sector, continuing education will not be confined to only physical space. Distance learning through interactive media will form a major part of continuing education. The internet will also play a huge role in delivering the course materials to the students.

A virtual course that is aimed at extending an individual’s knowledge beyond those formal years of education has now become reality. With respect to all of this development in the field of continuing education, we have only one question to ask: how much further can continuing education go?

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta So